As was hinted nearly a year ago, Ninjago is coming back and it's coming back strong! This is a topic to discuss the new storyline as it develops. I wasn't sure whether to make this topic here or in LEGO Discussion, but I figured that since most of the story discussion is media-related (either related to the TV show or the new website) Media Discussion would be best. If the moderators disagree, they are welcome to move it.

Who else is excited? I personally look forward to finding out more about the new characters like Cyrus Borg and Pixal! There have already been a number of excellent drawings of Pixal from various Ninjago fans on deviantART. She's definitely an intriguing character. I hope that she eventually becomes a trusted member of the Ninja team and continues to play a role even after this story arc.

I was happy and excited to learn that Ninjago would return due to me loving the theme and was disappointed that Chima was said to replace it. Pixal and Cyrus seem interesting and I do want to learn about them more since there isn't much info on Pixal herself.

I just got back from watching the first two episodes of the new arc, and I have to say that they are quite good. The show seems to have shed some of its comedic overtones for some romantic stuff and a lot of dark and grimedness, though, which I think is worth noting. There is still some of the slapstick dialogue, but it's starting to whiplash a bit with the grimmer picture.

Spoiler

By dark and grim, I'm referring to the kidnapping of Sensei Wu, that scene with Cyrus Borg (that looked real bad), and that last scene with Pixel. Even Lloyd's "fight" with Garmedon strikes me as edgy, with a grimmer side to the humor, at least. I couldn't laugh at it.

There's still lighter stuff (did they really think to disguise Lloyd in green? That's really gonna work. and that whole thing with the mindroid) but I definitely think there's more serious stuff going on.

I just got back from watching the first two episodes of the new arc, and I have to say that they are quite good. The show seems to have shed some of its comedic overtones for some romantic stuff and a lot of dark and grimedness, though, which I think is worth noting. There is still some of the slapstick dialogue, but it's starting to whiplash a bit with the grimmer picture.

Spoiler

By dark and grim, I'm referring to the kidnapping of Sensei Wu, that scene with Cyrus Borg (that looked real bad), and that last scene with Pixel. Even Lloyd's "fight" with Garmedon strikes me as edgy, with a grimmer side to the humor, at least. I couldn't laugh at it.

There's still lighter stuff (did they really think to disguise Lloyd in green? That's really gonna work. and that whole thing with the mindroid) but I definitely think there's more serious stuff going on.

Spoiler

The new green outfit for Lloyd wasn't meant to disguise him, but rather to foil the facial recognition (same as the other Ninja's outfits).

Anyway, loving the direction this season is taking so far. Pixal's relationship with Zane seems to be taking a sort of Wall-E/Eve angle, which is great. I was skeptical of the love triangle bit between Nya, Jay, and Cole, but so far it's helped to develop Cole and Nya's characters, and seems like Misako's experience with Garmadon and Wu might play a part in resolving it (which would help provide closure to that relationship as well), so I'm going to give it the benefit of the doubt. The visuals and cinematography so far this season are excellent.

The new green outfit for Lloyd wasn't meant to disguise him, but rather to foil the facial recognition (same as the other Ninja's outfits).

Anyway, loving the direction this season is taking so far. Pixal's relationship with Zane seems to be taking a sort of Wall-E/Eve angle, which is great. I was skeptical of the love triangle bit between Nya, Jay, and Cole, but so far it's helped to develop Cole and Nya's characters, and seems like Misako's experience with Garmadon and Wu might play a part in resolving it (which would help provide closure to that relationship as well), so I'm going to give it the benefit of the doubt. The visuals and cinematography so far this season are excellent.

It's still kinda funny that it's green, though. Even if the facial rec doesn't work, who else wears a green ninja outfit? (If anything, the other characters are more recognizable now, in red/blue/black/white. Computers are funny things.)

Do computers really know anything about love? I think it may be that Nya is attracted to Cole, while Jay is attracted to Nya. I didn't like that Nya just took the computer's word for it without considering how this would affect both Kai and Jay, though. If previous episodes are any indication, Kai will be vetting Nya's love prospects.

Not going to lie, the entire two episodes seemed beyond silly to me. Not that I'm expecting Ninjago to NOT be silly, but still, it's like:

"Hey so you're bringing Ninjago back, but I guess you're gonna need a new antagonist. You ran out last time"

"Oh, we're gonna bring back the Overlord!"

"But he got destroyed, didn't he...?"

"But WHAT IF...what if they built a robot tower where he was destroyed, which allows him to come back....AS A COMPUTER VIRUS. Because logic. And the same power that destroyed him can bring him back stronger than ever. Again, logic."

"...okay. Okay then. So..like...how are the ninja going to fight him then?"

"Well, the guy that makes the tower and is under the thumb of the Overlord, who watches his every move, will somehow have the time and power to make a bunch TECHNOBLADES *pulls out picture of cool looking weapons*"

"Oh, okay, that's actually cool, so what do these technoblades do? Like, do they have some cool techno-elemental powers or something like that? How do they fight with them?"

"Oh, no. They're not actually blades. They just allow the Ninja to HACK THE SYSTEM"

"What."

"And then they will REBOOT THE SYSTEM, eradicating the Overlord once and for all."

"That is...that is really dumb. Was it really necessary to create some magic science reboot not-weapons just to reboot a computer? Because. That is just so dumb"

"BUT TECHNOBLADES"

That is how it felt. Again, I'm not expecting anything terribly cerebral from Ninjago, but...come on. I'm pretty sure they could have come up with something far less contrived. And the fact that these new Nindroids have nothing to do with Zane and his dad is really pretty disappointing. I really expected more.

The subplot with Nya and Cole/Jay also feels pretty weak. A machine tells us Nya should like Cole, so Nya likes Cole! That sure had a lot of buildup! Sheesh. This feels like kind of a desperate attempt to have Nya be relevant (Much like her various previous kidnappings), but if the best they can think of to keep Nya relevant is love triangles and kidnapping, that...that is actually pretty troubling. Why they don't just bring Samurai X back is beyond me.

Not going to lie, the entire two episodes seemed beyond silly to me. Not that I'm expecting Ninjago to NOT be silly, but still, it's like:

"Hey so you're bringing Ninjago back, but I guess you're gonna need a new antagonist. You ran out last time"

"Oh, we're gonna bring back the Overlord!"

"But he got destroyed, didn't he...?"

"But WHAT IF...what if they built a robot tower where he was destroyed, which allows him to come back....AS A COMPUTER VIRUS. Because logic. And the same power that destroyed him can bring him back stronger than ever. Again, logic."

"...okay. Okay then. So..like...how are the ninja going to fight him then?"

"Well, the guy that makes the tower and is under the thumb of the Overlord, who watches his every move, will somehow have the time and power to make a bunch TECHNOBLADES *pulls out picture of cool looking weapons*"

"Oh, okay, that's actually cool, so what do these technoblades do? Like, do they have some cool techno-elemental powers or something like that? How do they fight with them?"

"Oh, no. They're not actually blades. They just allow the Ninja to HACK THE SYSTEM"

"What."

"And then they will REBOOT THE SYSTEM, eradicating the Overlord once and for all."

"That is...that is really dumb. Was it really necessary to create some magic science reboot not-weapons just to reboot a computer? Because. That is just so dumb"

"BUT TECHNOBLADES"

That is how it felt. Again, I'm not expecting anything terribly cerebral from Ninjago, but...come on. I'm pretty sure they could have come up with something far less contrived. And the fact that these new Nindroids have nothing to do with Zane and his dad is really pretty disappointing. I really expected more.

The subplot with Nya and Cole/Jay also feels pretty weak. A machine tells us Nya should like Cole, so Nya likes Cole! That sure had a lot of buildup! Sheesh. This feels like kind of a desperate attempt to have Nya be relevant (Much like her various previous kidnappings), but if the best they can think of to keep Nya relevant is love triangles and kidnapping, that...that is actually pretty troubling. Why they don't just bring Samurai X back is beyond me.

Spoiler

Somehow, the Techno-Blades didn't feel any more contrived to me than "Snake leaders' staffs contain antidotes to their own powers". And the Overlord's return fit with how he was established in the graphic novels as a force of darkness to balance the forces of light.

As for Samurai X, she's showing up in sets in the summer, so I imagine she'll show up in the show by halfway through the season. But in the meantime, I think the love triangle bit is strengthening Nya's character. In previous episodes, it seemed like Nya liked Jay just because she was his designated girlfriend (starting with "Blue? It's my favorite color!" which is a pretty poor excuse for a relationship). Just being presented with another option is leading Nya to put her relationship under a more critical eye. I imagine she'll end up back with Jay at the end, but this way she'll get to take a good long look at why they're right for each other, and rekindle the relationship on her own terms.

I really like how Ninjago can be silly and deep at the same time. I watch all the "movies" and the frist two seahsons on Netflix with my kids, we all love it now. I think the new season is on par with the others so far. With truning Wu in to Captian Picard, Gramadon's redemption, and what Misako (SP) said to Wu is season two there is a lot of room for dept in this season. I hope they tape in to it.

1

At some point you realize that you are but a speck in the Universe.

That you time in this worlds is but a blink.

You see the whole of reality as it unfolds before you.

You try to see how far you can reach, and it’s not that far past your face.

Any guesses on who the fig in the upcoming Ninjago Visual Dictionary might be? My bets are either Nya in her new clothes (it seems weird for a new default costume for a main character to show up in the TV show without any physical counterpart) or a new Sensei Wu minifigure (since we haven't yet gotten a non-evil version of him this year, and he's a central character of the storyline).

I think it's extremely unlikely, but it'd be cool if it was the new white Pythor.

I'd like that, Dareth or Misako.

I know Wikipidea is not alwasy relibal but I did find this to be some what logical...

"Techno Strike""Garmadon returns to the ninjas side, and together they journey to the island of darkness to get the one thing that can stop the overlord, however a face from the past is waiting for them, the first spinjizu master who teaches the ninjas how to use there techno blades and how to get sensei wu back, however the nindroids arrive and the first spinjitsu master helps to destroy them, then they return back to ninjago city, ready for the final battle.

Not going to lie, the entire two episodes seemed beyond silly to me. Not that I'm expecting Ninjago to NOT be silly, but still, it's like:

"Hey so you're bringing Ninjago back, but I guess you're gonna need a new antagonist. You ran out last time"

"Oh, we're gonna bring back the Overlord!"

"But he got destroyed, didn't he...?"

"But WHAT IF...what if they built a robot tower where he was destroyed, which allows him to come back....AS A COMPUTER VIRUS. Because logic. And the same power that destroyed him can bring him back stronger than ever. Again, logic."

"...okay. Okay then. So..like...how are the ninja going to fight him then?"

"Well, the guy that makes the tower and is under the thumb of the Overlord, who watches his every move, will somehow have the time and power to make a bunch TECHNOBLADES *pulls out picture of cool looking weapons*"

"Oh, okay, that's actually cool, so what do these technoblades do? Like, do they have some cool techno-elemental powers or something like that? How do they fight with them?"

"Oh, no. They're not actually blades. They just allow the Ninja to HACK THE SYSTEM"

"What."

"And then they will REBOOT THE SYSTEM, eradicating the Overlord once and for all."

"That is...that is really dumb. Was it really necessary to create some magic science reboot not-weapons just to reboot a computer? Because. That is just so dumb"

"BUT TECHNOBLADES"

That is how it felt. Again, I'm not expecting anything terribly cerebral from Ninjago, but...come on. I'm pretty sure they could have come up with something far less contrived. And the fact that these new Nindroids have nothing to do with Zane and his dad is really pretty disappointing. I really expected more.

The subplot with Nya and Cole/Jay also feels pretty weak. A machine tells us Nya should like Cole, so Nya likes Cole! That sure had a lot of buildup! Sheesh. This feels like kind of a desperate attempt to have Nya be relevant (Much like her various previous kidnappings), but if the best they can think of to keep Nya relevant is love triangles and kidnapping, that...that is actually pretty troubling. Why they don't just bring Samurai X back is beyond me.

Spoiler

Somehow, the Techno-Blades didn't feel any more contrived to me than "Snake leaders' staffs contain antidotes to their own powers". And the Overlord's return fit with how he was established in the graphic novels as a force of darkness to balance the forces of light.

As for Samurai X, she's showing up in sets in the summer, so I imagine she'll show up in the show by halfway through the season. But in the meantime, I think the love triangle bit is strengthening Nya's character. In previous episodes, it seemed like Nya liked Jay just because she was his designated girlfriend (starting with "Blue? It's my favorite color!" which is a pretty poor excuse for a relationship). Just being presented with another option is leading Nya to put her relationship under a more critical eye. I imagine she'll end up back with Jay at the end, but this way she'll get to take a good long look at why they're right for each other, and rekindle the relationship on her own terms.

Actually the snake staffs didn't contain the anti venom, they contained the actual venom. But Nya needed the venom to create an anti venom.

31 "Enter the Digiverse" May 31, 2014 (New Zealand and Australia) The ninja Enter the Overlord's turf with help of Cyrus Borg,But The Overlord finds out that the ninja are trying to reboot the entire system and will do anything to not let that happen.Now with the Help of Cyrus Borg,They enter the Hard drive into a world known as The Digiverse where they find The Digital Spirit of The Overlord guarding the Corrupted System.Now the Ninja have to fight their way to the Corrupted System waiting to be rebooted.Later,the ninja reboot the system and Lloyd escapes the overlord with barely any power Sensei Wu and all the machines are now rebooted as well. At the end The Overlord is out the Digital World and now in the physical real world.

I just want to know when this will be on in the US.

Edited by Smitty, May 28 2014 - 10:04 AM.

0

At some point you realize that you are but a speck in the Universe.

That you time in this worlds is but a blink.

You see the whole of reality as it unfolds before you.

You try to see how far you can reach, and it’s not that far past your face.

You probably ought to put that synopsis in spoiler tags. I'm not sure where you're getting this info from so either the synopsis, the premiere date, or both could be completely bogus for all we know, but still best to play it safe when dealing with possible future story information.

I'll keep my eyes open for news on the US premiere date (there have usually been one or two cartoon news sites that report the actual premiere date of the new episodes up to a month ahead of time).

You probably ought to put that synopsis in spoiler tags. I'm not sure where you're getting this info from so either the synopsis, the premiere date, or both could be completely bogus for all we know, but still best to play it safe when dealing with possible future story information.

I'll keep my eyes open for news on the US premiere date (there have usually been one or two cartoon news sites that report the actual premiere date of the new episodes up to a month ahead of time).

Sorry I forgot to mention that my source was Wikipidea, for both synopsis. I could check the citation to see where they got their info from... but they don't have that info.

Edited by Smitty, May 28 2014 - 10:13 AM.

0

At some point you realize that you are but a speck in the Universe.

That you time in this worlds is but a blink.

You see the whole of reality as it unfolds before you.

You try to see how far you can reach, and it’s not that far past your face.

The Ninjago website has been updated in a number of ways. There's an X1 Ninja Charger product page, a Battle for Ninjago City product page, and an Overlord character page! The product pages include downloadable building instructions if you click the arrow next to the images all the way to the right. They're very high-quality — none of the colors are difficult to distinguish. Hopefully a sign of things to come.

Also, the LEGO YouTube channel recently uploaded a commercial for the two summer sets:

Very exciting stuff! I'm going to have to keep an eye out for these sets! In the meantime, I've finally preordered the Ninjago Visual Dictionary, so looking forward to finding out what the exclusive minifigure will be!

I'm going to take a wild guess and say that it's likely the exclusive fig is that Overlord. That fig wouldn't be unprecedented.

No, we know for sure that it's not, because that Overlord would not be an exclusive fig. It's already coming in the Battle for Ninjago City set. The figs that come with the Visual Dictionaries and Character Encyclopedias are unique designs that never end up appearing in other sets.

The only near-exception is the Luke Skywalker in the revised LEGO Star Wars Visual Dictionary, who is based on (but still unique from) the original Luke Skywalker minifigure from 1999. However, there are several differences, most significant of which is that the new Luke minifigure has back printing while the classic Luke minifigure did not.

Chances are that the exclusive fig WILL be an existing character from the sets, but with a new design that does not appear in any sets. Compare how the exclusive Lloyd minifigure from the Character Encyclopedia appeared in his black costume from the Final Battle story arc, which did not appear in any other sets (the 2012 sets had his previous ZX costume while the 2013 sets only had him in his Golden Ninja costume).

Speaking of costumes that aren't really exclusive, it was recently discovered that the Zane minifigure from 70726 Destructoid (the one with his robot parts concealed, which was previously thought to be exclusive to that set) will be appearing in a $9 activity book, which will be a much cheaper way for people to get that minifigure. Destructoid is a good set, but I might spring for the activity book because its contents sound exciting and there are already lots of other LEGO sets on my wish list for this year.

I'm going to take a wild guess and say that it's likely the exclusive fig is that Overlord. That fig wouldn't be unprecedented.

No, we know for sure that it's not, because that Overlord would not be an exclusive fig. It's already coming in the Battle for Ninjago City set. The figs that come with the Visual Dictionaries and Character Encyclopedias are unique designs that never end up appearing in other sets.

The only near-exception is the Luke Skywalker in the revised LEGO Star Wars Visual Dictionary, who is based on (but still unique from) the original Luke Skywalker minifigure from 1999. However, there are several differences, most significant of which is that the new Luke minifigure has back printing while the classic Luke minifigure did not.

Chances are that the exclusive fig WILL be an existing character from the sets, but with a new design that does not appear in any sets. Compare how the exclusive Lloyd minifigure from the Character Encyclopedia appeared in his black costume from the Final Battle story arc, which did not appear in any other sets (the 2012 sets had his previous ZX costume while the 2013 sets only had him in his Golden Ninja costume).

Speaking of costumes that aren't really exclusive, it was recently discovered that the Zane minifigure from 70726 Destructoid (the one with his robot parts concealed, which was previously thought to be exclusive to that set) will be appearing in a $9 activity book, which will be a much cheaper way for people to get that minifigure. Destructoid is a good set, but I might spring for the activity book because its contents sound exciting and there are already lots of other LEGO sets on my wish list for this year.

Do not pass on the Destructoid, it's an awesome set and the only one to come with the mindroid.

0

At some point you realize that you are but a speck in the Universe.

That you time in this worlds is but a blink.

You see the whole of reality as it unfolds before you.

You try to see how far you can reach, and it’s not that far past your face.

I'm going to take a wild guess and say that it's likely the exclusive fig is that Overlord. That fig wouldn't be unprecedented.

No, we know for sure that it's not, because that Overlord would not be an exclusive fig. It's already coming in the Battle for Ninjago City set. The figs that come with the Visual Dictionaries and Character Encyclopedias are unique designs that never end up appearing in other sets.

The only near-exception is the Luke Skywalker in the revised LEGO Star Wars Visual Dictionary, who is based on (but still unique from) the original Luke Skywalker minifigure from 1999. However, there are several differences, most significant of which is that the new Luke minifigure has back printing while the classic Luke minifigure did not.

Chances are that the exclusive fig WILL be an existing character from the sets, but with a new design that does not appear in any sets. Compare how the exclusive Lloyd minifigure from the Character Encyclopedia appeared in his black costume from the Final Battle story arc, which did not appear in any other sets (the 2012 sets had his previous ZX costume while the 2013 sets only had him in his Golden Ninja costume).

Speaking of costumes that aren't really exclusive, it was recently discovered that the Zane minifigure from 70726 Destructoid (the one with his robot parts concealed, which was previously thought to be exclusive to that set) will be appearing in a $9 activity book, which will be a much cheaper way for people to get that minifigure. Destructoid is a good set, but I might spring for the activity book because its contents sound exciting and there are already lots of other LEGO sets on my wish list for this year.

Do not pass on the Destructoid, it's an awesome set and the only one to come with the mindroid.

True, but the Min-Droid is easy to assemble from other Nindroid parts — all I'd need to do is pair the black short legs from my spare Lloyd Garmadon with some spare Nindroid Warrior and Nindroid Drone parts, which I'll be sure to get when I get the X-1 Ninja Charger. But I do love the Destructoid's design and functions, so I'll definitely have to think about it. The contents of the activity book will probably make a considerable difference — I'm not one for buying a book just for the bonus minifigure, but from what I've seen some of those activity books include some funny comics and other nifty features.

Also, the July LEGO Store Calendar says that the next Ninjago TV special will be airing in the United States on July 13! Good to finally have a date for that.

Finally, I was just at Toys 'R' Us earlier and they had both of the new summer sets (which are also available now at LEGO stores and on shop.LEGO.com). I don't believe they were marked up from their original price, either. Toys 'R' Us seems to be getting better at that, judging from the way last year's mid-size Hero Factory sets (normally $13) were marked up to over $16 but this year's (normally $15) were available at RRP. And in any case, if you DO happen to find something marked up from its original price at Toys 'R' Us, they now price-match a lot of their competitors if you can show them a flyer or online shop with a lower base price.

While we're talking about ways to save money, the Barnes & Noble website has the Ninjago Visual Dictionary available for preorder at 32% off (down to $15 from $22)! I preordered it on Friday along with some other books that will coming out in September and October.

Don't forget, two new Ninjago episodes air tomorrow evening! This might not be as big a deal for some people because all eight episodes for this year have apparently already aired in Australia and been illegally posted online. But personally I've been trying to avoid spoilers and waiting for the official US broadcast.

Don't forget, two new Ninjago episodes air tomorrow evening! This might not be as big a deal for some people because all eight episodes for this year have apparently already aired in Australia and been illegally posted online. But personally I've been trying to avoid spoilers and waiting for the official US broadcast.

Same here! Also they are airing all the previous "Rebooted" episodes starting at 4 PM on the East coast.

Her are the new episode descriptions from tvguide.com

The Digiverse Agenda

Spoiler

Lloyd has been kidnapped by Pythor and his Nindroids, who plan on draining his powers. Meanwhile, the Ninjas must perform a daring rescue using the Techno Blades.

Codename: Arcturus

Spoiler

A cryptic clue is presented to the ninjas.

So what two more episodes to go before the end of "Rebooted"?

0

At some point you realize that you are but a speck in the Universe.

That you time in this worlds is but a blink.

You see the whole of reality as it unfolds before you.

You try to see how far you can reach, and it’s not that far past your face.

Ah, well that explains it. We definitely shouldn't trust info on sites like that if they can't provide so much as a source. Fake episode descriptions for LEGO TV shows seem to pop up all the time on user-generated sites like Wikipedia and IMDB. Anyone remember the Hero Factory episodes "Rampant Oceans" and "Empire of Frost"? Yeah, those were all Fake with a capital F.

These latest two episodes were pretty enjoyable. I look forward to the next two, although apparently those aren't due for a U.S. broadcast until October! It's gonna be a loooooong wait. In the meantime, though, the Ninjago Visual Dictionary I preordered should be arriving before then, so hopefully it won't contain too many spoilers. I'm still excited for the reveal of that book's exclusive minifigure!

I don't know if any BZPower members will be going to San-Diego Comic-Con, but one of the five LEGO-related panels there is a LEGO Ninjago panel with LEGO designers Tommy Andreasen and Simon Lucas as well as the writers Dan and Kevin Hageman. I look forward to hearing if anything cool gets revealed at that panel. Two years ago there was a Ninjago panel where some concept designs for sets were revealed, including a sketch model of Lloyd's Treehouse Fortress. And there's a possibility we might even hear something about the upcoming LEGO Ninjago movie, since the Hageman brothers are in charge of the screenplay for that.

Does the Golden weapons in space thing count as a retcon? I thought the Ninja destroyed the Golden Weapons in the time-travel episode?

Spoiler

I would say yes. When they made that episode the intent was to destroy the golden weapons, but it's an easy write off saying Wu and the ninja just assumed that the weapons were destroyed, and no real way of knowing with out at least looking in space.

0

At some point you realize that you are but a speck in the Universe.

That you time in this worlds is but a blink.

You see the whole of reality as it unfolds before you.

You try to see how far you can reach, and it’s not that far past your face.

Does the Golden weapons in space thing count as a retcon? I thought the Ninja destroyed the Golden Weapons in the time-travel episode?

The events of "Wrong Place, Wrong Time" were extremely unclear. People were wildly speculating about how that episode's events were supposed to be interpreted after it aired, and nobody ever quite arrived at a consensus. But in the episode itself, it did appear like the Golden Weapons flew up into space, so maybe that's how it was supposed to be interpreted all along. Hard to say.

Really enjoying Ninjago:Rebooted. Not completely caught up but it's good so far. Ninjago is easily the best current active LEGO line story-wise, better than Hero Factory at any rate. I kind of wonder why there isn't a separate forum for discussing Ninjago like there is for Hero Factory.